Smiles And Bows
by Demented Kitten Queen
Summary: "That was her apology. Even if she didn't know it." One-shot written for Caesar's Palace's "The Incredible Endless Challenges."


**Disclaimer: **You are Katniss Everdeen. Soon you will either be the Mockingjay or you'll be dead. The prospects in your life have been bleak at times, but this particular 'situation' is a clear winner. At least it ties in with the fact that Suzanne Collins owns you. What did you ever do to her anyway? You're the one in the life or death situations and she's making all the profit! How's that fair?

* * *

_**Challenge:**__ You have to show the Capitol citizen's as more than shallow and ignorant. Humanize them._

* * *

_Dear holograph,_

_Today is my first day at school. Mother and Father said that first impressions are everything, what ever that means. So today, I'll be wearing my bright pink button down dress with the frills! And a bow! Because I love bows! Bows, bows, bows! Bows are everything. Haha. I hope my new friends like bows two, because if not; shame on them! _

_Love,_

_Bliss Holiday_

* * *

Bliss stood on the other side of the door, smoothing out her dress and fixing the bow on her head. She smiled tentatively, her dimples showing fulling. She had an adorable smile, maybe that could help her with her quest for friends. Possibly! There's hope!

She reached up, grabbed the door handle and turned in. Taking a breath, she walked into the room, head up high and smiled at the crowd of other five and six-year olds. She narrowed her eyes at a few; a boy with purple hair, sitting quietly in the corner with a holograph in his lap. A tall, bright blue-haired girl coloring in the front row. And a boy with white-hair, screaming at another boy about "Prominessa Smyth" being the weirdest girl in the world, making the girl next to him gasp and throw her box of crayons at him.

_Ignore that boy. _Bliss said in her head. He was probably a troublemaker, and Bliss Holiday was _not_ gong to be seen with a troublemaker.

The pink-haired girl picked an empty desk in the first row, next to the little girl coloring. She put on another smile, and said, "Hi ya! What are you coloring?"

Colorgirl, as Bliss decided to call her, didn't even look up from her desk as she said, "Cyan Xanthe getting stabbed by her brother."

"Oh, well, that's cool..." Bliss knew who Cyan and her brother were; they were the siblings from the Hunger Games this year. Cyan's older brother, Damien, stabbed her to death with her own weapon in the final four and then went to win the games. Not that she watched the games, she heard about it from her brother. She wasn't one to watch the games, she didn't like the games to be honest. They were weird; who'd want to watch people die anyways? Not her anyways.

"Very," Colorgirl said. Bliss didn't even notice that she had no emotion when she talked. "I didn't want Cyan to win, she was boring. All she did was hide and cry when she got cut. Didn't even kill anyone, can you believe it? Making it so far and not even killin' no body! Daddy said that she should have died in the Bloodbath, I agree with him. I wanted Silas to win. I hated that he died in the bloodbath. He was funny. Who did you want to win?"

"Uh.. I, uh, wanted, uh, Adelaide to win.." That was the truth. Adelaide was the pregnant sixteen-year old girl from Twelve. She was really pretty, Bliss wanted her Mother to let her get her hair dyed so she matched Adelaide's bright red-hair. She said no that Bliss' pink hair was enough until next year.

Colorgirl raised her light blue eyebrows at her. "Why?

Bliss titled her head. "Well, why not? She was pretty cool."

"Yea...no." Colorgirl looked back at her drawling. "She was boring, her hair was stupid two. And anyone who liked her is a loser so bye bye."

Bliss looked at her, her shoulders dropped and she went over to sit next to the boy in the corner. Maybe he'd be her new friend since Colorgirl didn't want her.

The boy looked at her and got up, giving her a look of disgust as he left.

….maybe not.

* * *

_Dear holograph,_

_Today, I'm officially staring a new year at school! Can you believe it!? Me, Bliss Holiday, going into the middle school!? This is going to be so fun! Sure, I only had three friends in the lower schools and was considered weird because I didn't like the "Killing Games". But there is always hope! Maybe they'll be people at my new school who don't like the games either! And maybe they'll like me because I don't like them either! And then I'll have so many new friends, and I'll be popular! Eep! I can't wait!_

_Love, _

_Bliss Holiday_

* * *

Bliss was wrong.

No one disliked the Hunger Games here.

How did she know that? Well, for starters, posters of the Hunger Games were hanging on the walls of her school and t-shirts were easily seen on nearly every student. All expect her. She was wearing a yellow sun-dress with her natural hair color. Her Mother told her she looked beautiful, like one of those District 1 girls!

"What are you wearing!?" A voice cried from behind her. She looked over her shoulder and onto the owner of the voice. _Magali Jeralyn_. _Colorgirl._

"A dress, _Mega lame_," Bliss hissed back, glaring at the girl.

Mega lame glared at her. "Mhm, I can see Blissey. But why? The principle said we can all wear our favorite Hunger Games tributes today," she said, and then let out a gasp. Bliss barely noticed a small crowed crowding around them. "Oh no! Are you even allowed to watch the games? Is Blissey _afraid _to watch the Hunger Games!?" Mega lame laughed. "Oh that's rich! Blissey is afraid of the games! Who knew!? Haha!"

The crowd laughed while Bliss turned beet red and began to cry. "I-I'm not afraid to watch the Hunger Games! It-it's just... I don't like the stupid Hunger Games!"

Mega lame rolled her eyes and waved her hands at her. "Sure, sure!"

"It's the truth!"

"Of course it is," Mega lame smiled falsely at her. "And Gaillardet had a chance. _Loser_."

"I hope the next quell is to send us into the Hunger Games and you get reaped! I swear, I'm going to laugh at you when you die!"

Oh, how true were her words.

* * *

_Dear holograph,_

_I didn't mean the words I said. I really didn't want the next quell to be all Capitol children... and that's why I volunteered. I'm sorry. _

_Love,_

_the late Bliss Holiday_

* * *

Bliss raised her hand in the sea of other children when Mega lame's name was called.

That was her apology.

Even if she didn't know it.

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**Writer:** I'm sorry if I strayed off from the challenge. I've never been good at following prompts, sorry about that. :( Hopefully the story itself makes up for it. If not, feel free to yell at me in the reviews. Happy Thanksgiving.


End file.
